We are committed to the work of the Great Commission in the most challenging regions, no matter the cost, through cross-cultural church planting, making disciples, and the translation of God’s Word among people groups who currently have no access to the Gospel.
Dependence
We acknowledge our need to be utterly dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to fulfil his Great Commission through faith, humble obedience, and prayer (John 15:5; Matt. 28:16-20; Acts 1:8).
Urgency
We work tirelessly to plant healthy churches among the unengaged, unreached people groups of the world. Today more than 90 percent of the world’s unreached peoples live outside the reach of traditional missions — in areas of the world that are closed, restricted or prohibited to mission agencies. The task to bring them the hope of the gospel is urgent (1 Cor 9:16; Rom 1:13-15).
Creativity
The Gospel must be proclaimed, not just by conventional means, not just by traditional means, but by creative endeavours that support the objective. We must be willing to move out of our comfort zone and use creative businesses that will aid us in our goal of seeing churches planted (1 Cor 9:22-23; Acts 17:22-23).
Identity
We find our identity in Christ alone, and in that we find freedom. The work we do demands that we give up whatever “earthly” identities we have attached to ourselves. Just as Christ left his heavenly home and became part of the human race, we too must give up parts of ourselves to become relevant in another culture (Gal 2:20, 5:1).
People Group Focused
In response to Jesus’ command to make disciples of ALL nations, we prioritize our efforts to reach nations or people groups who are unreached and unengaged due to barriers that prevent them from having access to the gospel (Matt 28:19-20; Rev 5:9, 7:9).
Integrity
We work with integrity, seeking to minister in ways that the host government approves and that attest to the benefits we bring to the ethnic peoples in that region. If we obtain access by committing to do something, we will do it (2 Cor 1:12; Rom 13:1-2; Acts 4).
Biblical Theology
We are committed to teaching the whole narrative of God’s Word, starting from the beginning, in order to build a firm foundation of truth. This approach promotes the clarity of the gospel in an effort to minimize the influence of syncretism (Luke 24:25-27).
Cultural Relevance
God’s Word must be understood and taught clearly. We teach in the heart language so that Scripture is correctly understood in their cultural context (Col. 4:3-4).
Partnership with the Church
Our work is best described not as doing missions on behalf of the church, but rather as carrying out the mission of the church as part of the church. We are committed to an ongoing partnership with the churches that send us, with churches that already exist in the countries where we serve, and with the churches that will be planted through our work. We seek a role as servants, enablers, and partners with the local church in its God-given local and global cause. This role is best fulfilled when all true believers grow in interdependence with the rest of the Body of Christ and in confidence in Christ as the Church’s head (2 Cor. 5:11-21).
Planting Healthy Churches
We guide cross-cultural workers to plant healthy churches in unreached, unengaged people group contexts. Our “Distinctives of a Church” document gives definition to what we mean by “healthy churches” and provides a framework for evaluation of progress and strategy considerations (1 Cor. 3:10-11; Eph. 3:8-10).
Light on Our Feet
Our commitment to see God glorified among all people groups motivates us to overcome any obstacle to that end. Therefore, any new endeavour must meet the test of being ministry-focused and not aimed at providing comfort and convenience. We will only build the necessary infrastructure to access those groups in the most effective way. We also will persevere and work around any challenges that would impede accomplishing the task (2 Cor. 6:3-10).
Teamwork
We believe in church planting teams that consist of sent workers as well as those who come to Christ in planted churches. In other words, foreign workers and local believers come together as an expression of the Body of Christ (Acts 13:1-5; Phil. 1:27; Gal. 3:27-28).
Servanthood
In order to see the church planting task completed, we must be willing to lay down our rights and have a servant’s heart. We go to serve, not to be served. We go as learners, not imposing our home culture on the people we’re ministering to (Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:5-8).
Business Promotes Ministry
Success of a business or socioeconomic development venture will be measured by how it promotes church planting objectives. As most workers are financially supported by their sending church and other sponsors, they should view their business platforms as means for ministry not financial gain. When such endeavours do result in gain, we encourage profits to be used to promote church planting objectives not to grow personal wealth. (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:46-49; Acts 1:8).